The Value Of SMS Texting To Deaf Youngsters
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010At Griffith College, Cork, SMS texts are used to advise students of cancelled classes. Texting is a simple and often free method of communication that is available to anyone with a mobile phone. And these users range from young kids given phones by parents just in case of an emergency, to the elderly who may [...]
‘Experience’ Books From Off We Go! Publishing
Monday, January 18th, 2010Irish company, Off We Go! Publishing, has released a set of books for children to learn about different first-time experiences in early life.
These books benefit those with special needs and any young child experiencing these outings for the first time.
Twelve different titles are in the series, including “Going on a Plane’, “Going to the Optician” [...]
DeafHear Information Weekend March 5-7, 2010
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010DeafHear’s 2010 Information Weekend for families with newly-diagnosed deaf children is from March 5th to 7th, at the Heritage Hotel in Portlaoise.
This annual weekend fills up very quickly but a profile of the 2008 event is on the DeafHear website. Queries can be directed to DeafHear if wished.
Friday, January 29th is the booking deadline for this weekend, which [...]
New Simply Signing Initiative For Parents/Teachers
Monday, January 4th, 2010Simply Signing is inviting members to join its new “Now I Can Sign Programme” (NICSP), which is geared to parents and teachers.
The NICSP gives the skills to learn basic vocabulary in Irish sign language (ISL) such as “more” and “all gone”. These signs can be easily introduced to all babies and children from as young [...]
Early Childhood Care & Education (ECCE) Scheme
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009In Ireland, the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) free pre-school year is set to open up equal education opportunities to children nationwide.
The scheme, which is to be rolled out from January 2010, will be available to all pre-schoolers in Ireland, born between 2 February 2005 to 30 June 2006 (exemptions are made for children [...]
Hands On - November 29th at 12:50pm on RTE 1
Thursday, November 26th, 2009Every week, two deaf babies are born in Ireland. When a child is diagnosed as being deaf, parents must make decisions about what is best for their education, communication, language acquisition, social skills and identity.
This can be a difficult process, one that many parents report can be made harder by a lack of information and [...]
December 5th Creative Play Sessions - UPDATE
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009Update: Owing to the volume of seasonal festivities on Saturday, December 5th, IDK and Helium are postponing the sessions until late January. We apologise for any inconvenience.
On December 5 2009, IDK and Helium will host another Learning Language is Fun! creative play session at the RuaRed arts centre in Tallaght, Dublin. Helium artist, Margot Jones, [...]
Family Options To Feature In ‘Hands On’ TV Show
Friday, October 9th, 2009Hands On is the TV programme on RTÉ 1 devoted to issues related to deafness and the deaf and hard of hearing communities.
The producer, Anne Heffernan, has contacted IDK about a new programme in the pipeline, for which input is being sought from parents of deaf children.
As Heffernan explains, “it has come to our attention [...]
Learning Language Is Fun! - December 5th, 2009
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009On December 5 2009, IDK and Helium will host another Learning Language is Fun! creative play session at the RuaRed arts centre in Tallaght, Dublin.
In Sligo, a second, concurrent session will be held upstairs at The Factory Performing Space, Quay Street, with artist Helene Hugel.
Both sessions will run from 10:30am to 12pm on December 5th, [...]
Web Technologies Make Storytelling Inclusive
Friday, August 14th, 2009Twelve UK publishers are using web technologies to present contemporary childrens’ books in sign language with audio, animation and text in a GBP1.5 million project to improve literacy levels among deaf children.
The project, www.signedstories.com, offers a free online library of signed books for deaf children to develop their literacy & language skills, whether signed or [...]